science and the age of austerity. what will deep budget cults mean for n.i.h.? -- cuts mean for n.i.h.? watch "biocentury this week" ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ahh, i've been crawling around this desert all day. it's hot, my throat is dry. i need water! water! oh, thanks. let's go check out some more animals. we're here in the colorado desert with my friend liz, who's the animal curator at the living desert zoo and botanical gardens. and we've come across a really interesting and an easy animal to really approach in the desert, because they don't move very fast. and, liz, this is a california desert tortoise, right? liz: right. jarod: now, this particular desert tortoise, this is probably one of the most ultimately adapted animals of all. i mean, they've been around for millions of years. turtles and tortoises are -- i mean, there are so many adaptations, but this particular specie of desert tortoise has really adapted to kind of take it to the next level and really handle some extreme conditions. liz: yes. jarod: what are some characteristics that they have that make